Vegas:Cardle's Nightmare
by wikikiwi
Summary: New Vegas, a symbol of gambling, sex and sin, a place to win big or go home empty, this is where it all happens. Unluckly for Cardle, for his destiny wishes him to be a loser, and to leave the strip in a bodybag.
1. Chapter 1

**Vegas: Cardle's Nightmare**

**Prologue**

Vegas, a gambler's paradise, his home, sanctuary, whatever you want to call it, it's his dream. But Cardle isn't a gambler, and this isn't a dream, it's about his nightmare.

"Heh, Don't you just fuckin hate it, when you go to a new state hoping to get somewhere within of a life, and just as you get there some sonuva bitch raiders cripple your god damn legs and leave you to die of dehydration in the sink hole they call the Mojave. Luckily, some caravaneers carried me after I passed out and dropped me off in Goodsprings...took all my fuckin money too, robbin bastards. Yep, that's pretty much what's happened to me so far, great start ain't it?"

**Chapter 1: Good ol' Goodsprings**

Goodsprings, a quaint little town north of Primm, was slowly waking up burning under the blistering heat of the Mojave Wasteland. Cardle, still on Doc Mitchell's couch 2 weeks since he arrived there was starting to react to the light that was gleaming through the windows.

"Uhhh...m-my head...what the fuck happened to me?" mumbled a semi-conscious Cardle.

"Ssshhh, be calm, your okay now, I fixed you right up." Cheerily replied Dr Mitchell.

"Huh, what the- Get off you old bastard!" shouted Cardle as he jumped up onto his feet.

"Calm the hell down, I saved your deadbeat ass so pay attention to what I'm telling you to do, you owe me. Now, where were we? Ah yes, that's it, I was about to tell you how I helped your sorry ass" said a focused Dr Mitchell.

"Hmm, alrighty then, go on." quickly replied a bewildered Cardle.

"Well, after those nice folks that work for the Crimson Caravan Company dropped you off at the saloon I offered to help take care of you till you woke up. Ya see, you remind me of myself when I was younger, always eager and excited to explore" Happily said Dr Mitchell as he stood up and wandered to his front door.

"Uhh well thanks, but I best be off now, ya know people to see, places to be, the usual." interrupted Cardle as he took the Doc's stimpacks when he wasn't looking.

"Alright, alright slow down, I was just going to say who the people who almost killed you are," mumbled the Doc.

"They are known around all of Vegas as The Freemen, an elite group of ex-Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel higher-ups, that are trying to take over all of America so they can continue Vault-Tec's plans, and create a "super race" of human beings." Said the Doc in now a stern voice.

"Now, since you're in such an eager mood, I will give you two pieces of advice:

Never talk about The Freemen in public, they have spies everywhere.

Never follow The Freemen, they WILL kill you."

"Well I'm not just going to let them cripple me and get away with it now, am I?" Quickly snapped Cardle.

"I had a feeling you would say that...Alright, new plan, if you want to find out more about your attackers, ask Trudy, the saloon's owner and local gossip spreader, " Doc Mitchell said in a now calmer tone.

"Alright, nice meeting ya doc, thanks for patching me up these past few days, ciao" chirped Cardle.

"Wait! Before you go, do you remember how you got to New Vegas, and where did you live before you arrived here?" questioned Dr. Mitchell.

"I-I, don't really r-remember much, but what I have gathered in the short time I've been awake is that I lived far from here...Old Manhattan I think. I-I lived with...a young boy around 10 years old and another person...that I for some reason can't remember...I think it was my wife. Something happened to me...we got separated, all of us...so I travelled all round New York to find them, guess I never did. After that my mind is kind of blank...I remember...living in the ruins...dying of starvation and dehydration...then an old man found me with his followers.. he was around 60 but he was as strong as an Ox. People seemed to call him The Chosen One, and said something about him stopping The Enclave, whoever the fuck they are, but it doesn't matter, he then took me under his arm and took care of me until we reached the New Vegas border...he then left me and travelled east...towards the Capital Wasteland." said Cardle, in an award winning, heart breaking speech.

"T-That's...I'm sorry..." muttered Mitchell in a sad tone.

"It's ok...I should have known I was wasting time trying to find whoever they are" replied Cardle in now, a more cheerful voice.

"Well I suppose you'll want to talk to Trudy now" said the Doc opening his front door.

At that moment, Cardle took his first steps out into the scorching heat of the Mojave Wasteland, well, the only ones he can remember. As he stepped farther and farther away from Mitchell's house, he realised how much of a mess he had gotten himself into, as he stared at the bleak horizon he realised that this place couldn't make his dreams come true. Then he saw it, the New Vegas Strip, and it had never looked so amazing, he thought to himself, that if he could get there, he was made, from then till his first step into the saloon, he could only imagine him throwing poker chips into the air as he won thousands of caps, hookers prime for the picking and the one thing he has always wanted, happiness.

"Fine day for a stroll isn't it kiddo!" shouted Easy Pete as he rocked back and forth in his chair.

"Uhhh, yeah...hey, do you know where I could find Trudy by any chance?" mumbled Cardle as he snapped out of his daydream.

"Sure do! Just step right on in the saloon, she'll be right on in fixing that busted radio!" chuckled Pete.

"Thanks for the advice...fuckin weirdo" muttered Cardle under his breath as he stepped through the saloon door.

After stepping into the saloon, something changed in Cardle. He doesn't remember the entire incident, but he does remember most of it.

"YOU BITCH!" shouted Joe Cobb as he struck Trudy with the back of his hand, and laughed as she fell to the floor teary eyed.

"You dirty rotten bastard" exclaimed Cardle as Cobb turned around. "You dare strike a woman, who can't defend herself?" He carried on, with the rage building inside him, "You fuckin lowlife scum, I'll kill you!" roared Cardle as he finally snapped, lunging at Cobb, fist ready.

"What the fu-" screamed Cobb just as he got smashed in his jaw by a right hook. "Motherfuc-" he again howled, as he was again hit, this time by an uppercut.

"Fuck this!" barked Cardle as he ran head on into Cobb, tackling him to the floor, and preceded to start choking him.

"Stop, stop it this instant!" shrieked Trudy as she tried to pull Cardle back, he, looking back at her bleeding face, complied and stood up looking over the beaten and broken body of Joe Cobb.

"I-I'll kill you, me and my buddies will burn this shithole to the fuckin ground!" cried Cobb as he ran off in pain.

"Great, just fuckin wonderful, now I have to save this piece of shit called a town" sighed Cardle.

~1 Hour later~

"Umm, Ms. Smiles, if you don't mind, please could you lend me a gun to take care of Cobb and his gang? Asked Cardle.

"Sure thing, kiddo here, have my old 10mm pistol" she replied, as she held up the pistol offering it to Cardle.

That's when they began, the flashbacks I mean, I didn't know it at the time, but whenever I see something iconic from my past, I have visions, and when I first saw that pistol, it came back to me, all I could decipher from the vision was that I killed a women that seemed dear to me with one.

"Argghh!" screamed Cardle in pain.

"What seems to be the matter?" Sunny smiles questioned as she rushed to my side, comforting me.

"I-I, never mind, it isn't important" he muttered as he rose to his feet.

"Hey, shithead, I said i'd be back didn't I?" retorted Cobb from outside the saloon.

"Son of a...Alright, I got an idea, Pete can I borrow some dynamite? Sunny can I borrow your Varmint Rifle? Also, do we have anyone else who could help?" ordered Cardle.

"Well some courier, the guy who brought them into town in the first place, is hiding in the abandoned gas station, try and see if he can help" remarked Trudy.

"Anything for you" said Sunny Smiles in a slightly flirtatious yet creepy tone.

"Huck huck huck! I ain't givin anyone my dynamite son, too dangerous!" chuckled Pete in a serious voice.

"Okay Trudy I'll check him out, Ms. Smiles...thanks...I guess? And Pete, just gimme the fuckin dynamite before I take it from you by force!" quickly replied Cardle.

"Grrr, fine, but you owe me 100 caps bucko, or else" grumbled Pete.

"Fine, but call me bucko, kiddo, kid or son one more time and I may have to shove your dynamite up your own ass, ya old bastard" shouted an annoyed Cardle.

As Cardle hurried out of the saloon he saw something he certainly wasn't expecting, an organised gang. Luckily, before he rushed head on into them he noticed that they hadn't seen him yet and were sat by the fence outside town smoking cigarettes. He used this to his advantage as he rushed from building to building till he reached The Courier's hideout.

"Open this fuckin door before Cobb sees me, you sack of shit!" screamed Cardle.

"What the- alright get in, get in!" replied The Courier. "So, mind telling me who the fuck you are?"

"Me? I'm your new best friend dipshit, now get a gun and lets save your skinny white ass" barked Cardle.

"Alright, alright don't get your mom's panties in a twist ya fuckin impatient ape" shouted back The Courier as he went under the desk you stand back up with a Cowboy Repeater.

"Damn straight, now lets do this shit" nodded Cardle.

"Bout goddamn fuckin time" acknowledged The Courier as they both stood next to the door.

"Alright, on the count of three. One, tw-" said Cardle before he was interrupted.

"Fuck it!" screamed The Courier as he kick the door open, gun in one hand, cigarette in the other.

"What the- You goddamn fucking retard!" bellowed Cardle.

Cardle then looked on to see the young courier charge into the heat of battle, only to get blown away by Cobb's single shotgun.

"Nooooo!" shrieked Cardle.

That's when the second vision began, this time it lasted much longer and was clearer. It showed me at around 14 years of age and a boy about the same age, we were in a destroyed building a-and a ghoul lunged at us...it only slashed my back but it...it saw my friend jump at him and grabbed him in mid air...it's hand impaled the kid right through his heart, killing him instantly. Just as it turned to face me, that man arrived again..The Chosen One...he pulled his hunting revolver from it's holster and shot the reaver right between it's eyes. He then took me under his arm and patched my back up till it was just a scar, after it healed he took me to a place he knew, Vault 49, and the vision ended as the vault door opened.

As I came back to reality, I threw my cigarette to the floor, stomped on it and pulled out my rifle, "Alright Cobb prepare to meet your maker cos shit just got personal."

He stormed out of the petrol station and ran for the nearest bit of cover, "gun loaded? Check" Cardle said to himself.

" I know your there, you lil faggot, just come out and me, you and your little faggoty ass dying friend here can play happy families" shouted Cobb.

"1,2,3,4,5,6...7...damn theirs too many of them, if I go rushing in with my rifle that kid will get shot...fuck it, time to go ninja" remarked Cardle.

"Alright I just the thing" said Cardle putting away his rifle and grabbing a knife in one hand and Sunny's pistol in the other.

He knew that to get too Cobb he would have to be quiet so he got on his knees and crawled ad stopped once we was across the fence that Cobb was leaning on.

"Alright you little piece of shi-" whispered Cardle just as he got interrupted.

"MOOOOOOO!" shouted the Bighorner beside him.

"Shaddup you oversized fuckin goat!" quietly screamed Cardle.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to work with animals?" said Cobb looking straight at Cardle with his gang member next to him aiming down his sights at Cardle.

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE, SOD IT!" exploded Cardle, throwing his knife straight into the throat of the ganger aiming at him.

"Acckk!" he screamed as he turned to his friends and pulled the trigger by accident catching one of them in the shoulder.

"Fuckin kill him!" shrieked Cobb in a fit of rage.

Just then Cobb suddenly hit the floor in pain, he'd been shot, and just as he hit the ground he landed facing The Courier who was smiling, blowing the smoke coming out of his gun's barrel.

"You limey bastard! I shoulda shot you in the head when I had the chance, ah well guess I'll just kill you now eh?" belched Cobb, pulling a 44. magnum from his pocket.

"Oh...that ain't good" said a shocked Courier as he started to crawl away, looking for cover.

"Oh for god's sake man, do I have to do everything? All you had to fuckin do was play motherfuckin dead and you can't even do that, ya lazy bum" shouted a peeved Cardle.

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP" ordered Cobb.

"Oooo someone's a bit pissy today!" stated The Courier.

Ignoring the constant bullshit that spewed out of Cobb's and The Couriers mouths, Cardle caught the last gang member off his guard when he was reloading by throwing a rock in between his eyes, killing him on contact.

"Shit." mumbled Cobb to himself as he heard Cardle pull his knife out of the dead gang member's heart and walk right behind him. "Alright, you win, I'll admit it...but I'm taking him with me!" bellowed Cobb in a fit of rage as he aimed down the sights of his magnum and shot The Courier in his left lung.

"Nooo! You dirty evil bastard!" snapped a furious Cardle as he plunged his knife straight into Cobb's cranium.

He then rushed over to The Courier to see if he was ok, but it was too late, as Cardle was rushing towards him The Courier passed away just after he pulled out a Platinum Chip and murmured to Cardle something about giving it to Mr House.

Something changed in Cardle that day, he no longer was the nice, caring guy and realised if you want something in this world, you have to get it yourself. As he walked back to the saloon with The Platinum Chip in his hand, he tried to remember his past, but to no avail. Just as he came back to reality, in the corner of his eye he saw The Chosen One, much younger now, around mid 20's going into the saloon. "The...the fuck?" he said to himself rubbing his eyes to see if he was still day dreaming, and walked into the saloon.

"T-Trudy, where can I find The Freemen?" he stuttered trying to regain his stance.

"Well, I don't really know where they are...but I know someone who does! Orion Moreno, he used to work for The Enclave but then changed into The Freemen, and left them shortly after." she said in her annoying voice.

"Why did he leave The Freemen and where can I find him." replied Cardle with zero change in his tone.

"He left because he realised what a bunch of homicidal sadistic fucks they are...oh and he should live near Freeside!" she said seriously, before turning back into the annoying old bitch she was.

"Freeside eh? How would I get there?" he inquired.

"Well first, go south through Primm, then around Nipton, all the way to Novac till you reach the 188 Trading Post then its a small walk from there" she happily chirped.

"Well...thanks for nothing bitch, remind me never to come to this shithole again" he said in a happy tone while smiling at her.

So there he went, Cardle began his journey to Orion Moreno, if only, if only he knew what he was going to find out from Orion about his family and why the visions have been happening, If he knew then he'd probably have left New Vegas right away.

~End of Chapter 1~


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It felt like hours since Cardle left Goodsprings for Primm, maybe it was the sweltering heat or it was just because he was tired, but it felt to him like his legs would collapse any minute then. According to a map that he only found because the damn wind smacked it in his face, he was around a place marked as Jean Sky Diving, whatever the fuck sky diving was.

Out of the twinkle of his eye he spotted something outstandingly strange, a skeleton, wearing a hat, in a fridge. He stood looking at the thing before him for a good 30 seconds before he walked towards at and looked at the hat, "Property of Dr. Indiana Jones" it said underneath as he picked it up for closer inspection.

"Hey, rat-ass, yeah you! This is Powder Ganger territory now piss off!" growled an angry gang member.

Cardle firstly stood, looking at the Powder Ganger weighing up his options. Should he run for it like the man said? Or should he take them by surprise and take whatever valuables they might have? After a good two minutes of deep thought he made a decision, he put a cigarette in his mouth and put the fedora hat on his head just as he charged into them wielding a trusty shovel he picked up back at Chet's shop in Goodsprings.

The Powder Gangers, not expecting such a reaction, were taken aback and surprised as Cardle swung his shovel striking the first ganger in the cheek crushing his skull in between the shovel and a broken down truck.

Just as he pulled the shovel out of the first ganger's face he swung with all his might doing a 180 degree turn and stuck the tip of the shovel deep into the intestines of the second ganger, before yanking it out. The final Powder Ganger seemed less frantic than the others, a leader of sorts, as he pulled his 9mm pistol out and shot Cardle right in his shoulder blade as he got struck with the full force of the shovel crushing his skull to half its original size.

"Arggh!" screamed Cardle in agony as he searched for goods to steal, and massaging his wound. He decided it would be best if he scrapped the loot, got patched up in Primm and return later for his stash, so off he went. Of course, being the medical genius he is, Cardle didn't predict the seriousness of his injury well and after a few steps from the camp he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Urggh" mumbled a disoriented Cardle as he struggled to rise his head, only to notice he was crucified to a cross, looking up at a sign. "Primm motherfuckers huh? Well at least I know where the hell I am" grumbled Cardle. Slipping in and out of consciousness, Cardle thought he met the end of his days, before he looked down to see Vulpes Inculta and half a dozen praetorian guards.

"Ahh, you finally woken up have you? Good because I require your services in the Legion's never ending battle against the barbaric NCR" slyly said Vulpes in a slippery snake like tone.

"Y-You...need me? What on this earth could I do that you, a goddamn army, cannot?" inquired Cardle.

"You can enter the NCR outpost near Nipton, that is why we need you" snapped Vulpes as he untied Cardle from the crucifix, "Then you can plant and activate the bomb"

"A-a bomb? You want me to fuckin murder them all, for what? Your little group here alone could destroy them!" shouted Cardle.

"Ah yes but we don't want them to know our power yet...we want to scare them...let them know how we can control any wastelander we so wish" explained Vulpes in a sinister voice.

"You...You sick bastard...Your inhumane, the lot of you!" screamed Cardle.

"No, we just have very different methods of showing our power to those NCR dogs" snapped Vulpes finally letting Cardle free from his crucifix."Oh and just to let you know before you leave, if you run, we will hunt you, we will find you and WE. WILL. KILL. YOU." sternly whispered Vulpes in Cardle's ear.


End file.
